| Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House Contributor(s): Keckley, Elizabeth (Author) |
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ISBN: 1605209309 ISBN-13: 9781605209302 Publisher: Cosimo Classics OUR PRICE: $25.64 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 2009 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Cultural, Ethnic & Regional - General - History | United States - Civil War Period (1850-1877) - History | Social History |
| Dewey: B |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (0.76 lbs) 164 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1851-1899 - Topical - Civil War - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Ethnic Orientation - African American - Cultural Region - Mid-Atlantic - Cultural Region - South Atlantic - Cultural Region - Southeast U.S. - Geographic Orientation - District of Columbia - Geographic Orientation - North Carolina - Geographic Orientation - Virginia |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: ELIZABETH HOBBS KECKLEY (1818-1907), dressmaker to the elite of Washington D.C. on the eve of the Civil War, was, remarkably, a free black woman who'd purchased her emancipation through the fruits of her own hard work. In 1861, she became the personal designer to Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as one of the First Lady's closest confidantes. Only a few years later, however, that relationship was in ruins, when this 1868 book created a scandal. Intended by Keckley to rehabilitate the reputation of the former First Lady-who had run up extensive debts on clothing and other luxuries while in the White House, and found herself unable to repay them after the President's assassination-the book was perceived instead as a betrayal of friendship. Perhaps one of the first examples of celebrity gossip publishing gone awry, Behind the Scenes does, nevertheless, offer an insider perspective on the Lincoln White House that will intrigue armchair historians and fans of biography alike. |